A Man of Your Talents: The First Case
by Jewell Trim
Summary: Chris is working his first case with Team 7, however, something doesn't seem to sit right with him, and the rest of the men have their doubts about his leadership.


A stream of smoke was released over his head as Chris finally let it out with a sigh. His eyes burned for sleep, but the man couldn't seem to join the rest of the sleeping world. Instead he sat on his couch and listened half-heartedly to the news on the channel he had left on. The boring news that he could care less about, lasted for about ten minutes with the periodic commercials interrupting often. His head was being filled with useless facts and he felt disgusted as each image, face, building seemed to imprint itself on the back of his retinas. Their words, mostly useless information, was stored in the back of his brain as he listened nonetheless. The blond had hoped that the cigar and the four bottles of beer would make him groggy enough, that his brain would start to allow him to sleep.

No such luck.

It was his second week being stuck in this godforsaken place of Denver. After all of the paper work had been filed away and reported, every member of the team was fully cleared for active duty again, Chris was looking to start his first case with his assigned team.

From what he had gathered from the files on each man, which for some was enough to write a novel on, he decided not to fully believe in what he had read. Instead he accounted their actions, which was not hard to do, because each man was very active in their own special way.

The team was really good, but did they know how good they were?

Chris thought back to the files on Vin Tanner. The guy was a trained sniper and weapons specialist. Was a ranger and did a couple of tours before being badly injured and coming back to the states. Off the record, Chris noticed how the man moved as silent as a cat and was pretty good at his vanishing act (especially when it came to turning in reports). He seemed like a person who could be extremely loyal, but had his guards up, like some of the others. It was nicely hidden by his mischievous behavior. Testing at the waters to see how things would end up.

JD Dunne. Eager to prove himself to the team, was still considered just the 'kid'. Was a genius in every sense of the word. Could hack into anything and was unmatched on the computer. Chris saw that the youngest agent was looking to be more involved in the missions and waiting for the opportunity to arise. He wondered if he could pull that kid in more. Even if he was just here temporarily, he could at least try and tighten up the team, so they could work a lot better when their new leader was assigned when he left.

Nathan Jackson. The man was by the book and very focused on what he knew. Though he was cleared to be an agent, the man didn't lift up his gun very often. With the history of injuries Chris found of the team, he could see why the man was needed. He would definitely be useful later on. Chris marked that file to come back to.

Josiah Sanchez. The guy was the only one who tried, without force, to become friends with Chris. Though Chris wasn't looking for that, he probably saw it as the man analyzing him. The agent was a profiler, a very interesting one, who knew what he was doing and the people he was working with. This person would probably be the only one to actually listen to him during these next three months.

Chris wasn't sure what to think about Buck Wilmington, the man was an open book, Navy SEALs like him, but in a different fleet. He seemed mostly happy and appeared to have taken JD under his wing. He wondered if the man saw a fellow member of his team in the younger agent from when he was in the Navy. The man had tried numerous times to invite Chris to join them at the Saloon, but the need for a drink never exceeded the cost for socializing. Still, he wouldn't consider Wilmington as anyone who was incompetent. The man hid his smarts under the shit-eating-grin he gave half the time.

Last but not least was the ever wary and close-guarded, Ezra Standish. The man's file was the largest of the group. The previous agent of the FBI was recommended to be transferred after things got hairy. The FBI said that he had went rogue, on the take. What he had heard from Josiah, he wasn't so sure that things had definitely went down that way. The guy was an excellent undercover agent, but because of that, the other agents got jealous and accused him of being a traitor. From what Chris could tell, the man was still bitter at the treatment he had gotten from his previous employers, but hadn't completely healed. He didn't trust those around him still, his teammates were just that. Nothing more.

Team 7's previous leader, a Frank Owen, had no notable qualities that Chris thought were necessary to know, though he remembered them regardless. Chris's superior, Admiral Reeves, said to him once that the leader was the key to the team's success. They brought the rhythm and pace to the team. If a leader was a hothead, then the team would mostly consist of easily irritated men who relied on force then anything. Leaders who were more easy going and lazy would have a team that consisted of those people. Most work was sloppy bordering on useless. Worse one yet, a corrupt leader meant discord between everyone and definitely a lack of trust all around. A team divided wasn't a team at all. That was what Chris got from reading about agent Owen. The man hadn't brought anything positive to the team. Men who were the best in their field were tethered down to an old broken wagon like a race horse being used for the wrong purpose.

The man had been stealing from evidence and selling drugs that should've been locked away. Of course the guy covered his tracks in a way that pointed all the fishy activity to one of his own agents. When the last bust they went on got hairy and some of the criminals ratted him out, Owen took that agent and tried to use him as a shield. The agent was fortunately not severely injured, but trust was more damaged than ever.

Frankly, Chris noticed that he was the team's third leader in the past two years. The first one was like a hothead, who brought down the team's morale and verbally abused more than one of his agents. He threw racial slurs as well as sexual offenses to not only the team's secretary, who quit shortly after, but to a couple of the team members.

"Basically, this team is broken more than I am, and the judge thinks my being here is going to help for some reason." Perfect. Now he needed another drink.

* **On other news; a boy was kidnapped from his neighborhood. The boy, Sammy Wilkes is still missing. Last scene at a bus stop where he was taken by four men***

Chris went rigid as he listened to the news report. He had heard that last name before. He watched as the mother was being spoken to and a blurry image of the men kidnapping the boy from a neighborhood surveillance camera. After watching for a few more minutes, Chris turned the television off and finished his last beer and cigar.

Stretching his limbs, Chris walked across the room and dumped the empty container of the refrigerator food he had had.

The noise from the world outside was still pretty loud as he crossed the room and into the bedroom. Dropping unceremoniously on the bed, Chris crawled to the head of the bed and tried to get some sleep finally. It was just pass two in the morning.

The ringing of his phone made Chris growl in annoyance as he picked it up and checked the ID. It was the director.

"Just great." He growled before answering the phone, "Larabee. What is it?"

"We have an emergency."

"One that can't wait until morning?"

"Have you checked the news lately?"

"The bastard we just elected as president? Legalizing marijuana in another three states or the missing boy from the Denver area?"

"This is not a joke Larabee. I'm calling everyone in on team 7. Be in the office in an hour."

Chris groaned as he ended the call and rolled over.

Well, at least he didn't have to worry about trying to fall asleep.

Getting dressed in his habitual black, Chris grabbed his keys and bag and headed out the door.

He made it to the office within the allotted hour and saw that Nathan and Josiah had made it there right around the same time as him.

"You know what they say, 'the early bird gets the worm'." Josiah smiled at the other two men.

"This can't even be considered early." Nathan grumbled as they made it to the office.

Chris listened to the two men talk as they made their way up the elevator and to the office.

"I was just falling into a deep sleep when Travis called." Nathan yawned as he began fixing the team a pot of coffee.

"Crime doesn't sleep." Josiah laughed at his disoriented friend.

"There ain't no rest for the wicked either." Chris muttered to himself as he walked pass them and to his office. Just as he got there and was unlocking it, he heard the elevator ding and turned to see Buck come in with a half-asleep JD.

"GOOD MORNING, DENVER!" Buck said as he presented the box of doughnuts he had brought in.

"Can you please shut him up." JD begged as he wiped his eyes as if still asleep. "He's been like this since he picked me up. He even was functional enough to flirt with the woman at the drive thru window."

Chris shook his head and opened the door to his room. Quickly dropping his things at his desk, he stepped partially out of the room. He saw the young tech genius just drop in his chair at his desk and lay his head down.

"Dunne. I need to speak with you for a minute."

JD's head shot up when he heard his name being called by the usually quiet man. Fumbling to his feet, he got up and entered Larabee's office.

"What does he want with JD?" Buck frowned in confusion.

Josiah only smiled as he sat at his desk with a cup of piping hot coffee.

"Dunne, I need you to go over the film from the kidnapping and I want you to try and pull some facial recognition and see if you can ID the kidnappers. Any information on the men and who they work for, their friends and family could be useful." Chris said as he sat down behind his desk to unload his personal computer from his bag.

JD was still a little out of it from being called into the man's office and then being given an assignment.

"You got that Dunne?" Chris asked, looking back up at the young man still standing there.

"Uh yeah, I mean yes. I'll get right on it for you, sir." JD stuttered a little.

"Great. Get as much info as you can before the briefing. Once everyone is in, we'll do a briefing on what's going on."

"Of course." JD nodded, he turned to leave, but then stopped at the doorway, "Do you mind me asking, why we are being assigned a kidnapping case? Not that I don't mind. It's just, not our area."

"We'll have to wait until Travis fills us in on that little detail and any information you can find."

JD nodded again before leaving the office.

Buck and the others were busily getting caffeinated when JD returned.

"And what does our new leader say from the great room from beyond?" Buck teased.

"He wants me to look at the video of the kidnapping and see if I can identify the kidnappers." JD said as he quickly sat down and started up his computer.

Vin walked into the room with his messenger bag over his shoulder.

"Ooh, doughnuts! Thanks Bucklin." Vin snagged a doughnut and popped it into his mouth before grabbing another.

"Has anyone checked in with Ezra?" Nathan asked distractedly.

"Nope. Figured he'd be the last to show." Vin shrugged as he dropped into his chair, smiling with a mouthful of mushed up dough.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Seriously, half of you act like children while the other half _are_ children."

"Hey!" Vin said in mocked- offense.

About ten minutes after the time they were supposed to be in, Standish arrived in a rush.

"My apologies. I was not expecting to be called away from my previous engagement and was on the other side of the city. Traffic was its usual lovely self with a couple of minor accidents along the way. Fear not for I am unharmed though."

"Wonderful." Nathan muttered to himself. "Less bandages for the first 24-hours of the case."

"Everyone, the director is waiting for us in the main briefing room." Chris said as he walked quickly pass the team to get there himself. Having to wait for his whole team was a pain sometimes.

The six men followed after him with JD carrying the information that he had found that Chris had asked for.

Inside the briefing room was a man who was dressed as a Navy admiral. When Chris stepped in the doorway, he stopped where he was, stood straight and saluted. The admiral stood and saluted back. Buck was a little slower on the take, but saluted to the higher ranked officer. While Chris shook hands with the man, the other members of team 7 hung back.

"I'm a little confused. Am I supposed to salute too?" JD whispered.

"Not unless you were in the Navy or you know him." Vin smiled. The others also were smiling.

"Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Admiral Wilkes. He has personally asked that team 7 work this case." Travis said as a way of introduction.

Everyone sat down around the long table.

"I'm sorry, but from what I had heard from the director, I heard that the case was a kidnapping." Buck frowned, "With all due respect, that technically isn't are regulation."

"I know, but this isn't your average kidnapping." The admiral said with a sad smile.

Chris sat straighter in his chair. The admiral's child had gone missing. While he was away? The guilt the man was probably feeling right now.

He clenched his fist under the table as he tried to control the self-hate for not being there for his own family. For a while, the conversation around him was just white noise as he felt flash backs go through his head.

Josiah kept a weather's eye on Larabee who had shut down since sitting in his seat. The man seemed to be going through some painful emotions as his face pinched a couple times. Without that small reflex, Sanchez would've imagined that the man wasn't even listening, or even there mentally.

"That is why you are all here." Travis concluded.

"So this is in fact blackmail then." Ezra said as he sat back in his seat.

"All I want is for the person responsible to be found and held accountable." The admiral said through gritted teeth.

Chris finally checked in and looked up at the admiral. "I had agent Dunne run facial recognition on the men responsible for kidnapping your son, admiral. Dunne, can you please bring it up."

JD nodded and promptly pulled up an image of the four men who were in the video.

"I was able to use the tattoo in the video and trace it back. This here is Nikita Sokolov. Hired out by a man named Illya Romanov."

"I've heard of him." The admiral nodded, "But why would he want my son?"

"Why indeed." Chris said thoughtfully. His eyes stared relentlessly at the officer across from him, "Care to tell us, admiral?"

The admiral seemed a little flustered at the man's rudeness, he raised his head a little higher, "There has been recent problems with Russian weapons being smuggled into the country. A cruise ship's captain had his wife and daughter held hostage until the goods were delivered. I'm thinking this could be the same thing."

"Who?" asked Nathan finally.

"Anton Vasiliev. A well-known gun smuggler."

"Isn't it kind of risky, trying to have an admiral carry his weapons?" JD asked tentatively.

"I thought the same, but he has my son somewhere and he told me that if I don't go and deliver his goods then he'd start delivering my boy in pieces to my wife."

JD got on his laptop and began looking up the files they had on Vasiliev.

"Is there a particular reason why you have been specifically selected to carry out this task?" Ezra asked, his head cocked to the side in thought.

The admiral looked at the man speaking, the way the guy dressed, he didn't look anything like an agent.

"My ship is bringing in a shipment of weapons and men over to the fort we have over there in the north. We port in Magadan. From there I will receive instructions where to pick up the guns and bring them on board."

"It's enemy soil so we don't have any authority over there." Josiah sighed.

"I've heard of Anton Vasiliev." Ezra said as he tapped his fingers distractedly on the table. "The man never could get convicted because he always kept his hands clean and none of his men would ever testify against him. Those who may have, were killed mysteriously."

"Your point." The admiral said in irritation.

Ezra rose his eyebrows and looked expressionlessly at his manicured fingernails. "Oh it was just a statement really. However, how would you try and stop a man who is on the other side of the hemisphere? That thought does come to mind."

"So we just look for the boy then?" Vin shrugged. "Easy money."

"But what about the guns?" Buck pointed out.

"If these guns hit the streets, then we are talking about hundreds dead." The admiral said, jabbing two fingers at the table.

"But we also need to find your son." Chris said, his eyes still glued to the man.

"You said it yourself," he looked at Buck, "that you all don't handle kidnappings. Fine. I can have the local police searching for him. Just help me bring this son of a bitch down."

Travis nodded his head in agreement, "Alright. We will send team 7 with you to see if we can capture Vasiliev's men. Larabee, see if you can work it so that they have no choice but to come on board the ship. That is US property, so we should be able to get them that way."

The others in the room except for Chris got up to prepare to leave to get ready.

"No." was the blond's response to the order.

Everyone stopped moving and turned to look at him. The admiral looked offended and ready to start arguing. Travis was a bit confused as to why Larabee was disagreeing. His agents, who were almost at the door were shocked. JD and Nathan's mouths hung open, Buck was right along with them. Vin looked ready to burst out laughing, Ezra had his eyebrows raised, and was beginning to feel things growing more interesting by the day. Josiah smiled to himself. He was feeling that Chris was finally beginning to take on his role more.

"Is this the kind of agents you have here Travis?" The admiral began to get irritated

Travis held up his hand to stop the man's rant, he turned back to Chris, "What do you mean by 'no'?"

"This is my team, correct? You brought me here to lead them. So, let me do my job. I'll be giving the orders. Sir."

There was a long pause where no one knew what to say.

"Okay Larabee. Get your team organized then." Travis said with a little smile.

Chris nodded and got up from his chair. The others parted so that he took the lead back to their office.

"Wow." JD couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I know." Vin said with a huge grin.

"I mean wow." JD repeated.

"We heard you kid." Buck chuckled, he was also pretty impressed.

"Is this what it's like when I don't get my rest?" Ezra grinned.

"No, you don't give off the vibe that if someone crosses you then you'd shoot them dead." Buck laughed.

"Well that's rude. I can get upset when I don't get sleep." Ezra muttered.

"You're like a 'attack first, ask questions later', type of person when someone tries to wake you." Josiah smiled at the shorter man.

When they reached their office space Chris turned to the men finally.

"Alright, forget what Travis said in there. We're going to do somethings a little different?"

"Like what?" Nathan asked curiously.

"For one, not all of us are needed in this job. The fewer the better."

"Uh, I think you got this a little confused with undercover work." Ezra chuckled. "This is simply making a bust on a delivery."

"No, it's not." Chris answered quickly. He looked at the team, trying to decide who would serve which purpose better. "This job is a two front mission. We address it at both sides."

"Okay, so who's on the metal death raft, sailor boy?" Vin said with a grin.

Buck looked from Vin to Larabee, noting the insult to SEALs. He was expecting some kind of response, but instead there wasn't one.

"I'll be right with you for who is on what team and who is in charge of the second." Chris said before heading to his office to get ready.

"Did you just call him a sailor boy and not get punched in the face?" Buck asked in wonder.

"I think it has to do with my unbeatable charm." Vin gave a lopsided grin.

"Uh huh." Nathan shook his head.

Chris poked his head out the door way, "Hope all you boys can swim."

Ezra pulled at the sleeves of his uniform in frustration as he and Vin walked through the tight corridors on their way up to the main deck.

"Never thought my first time on a cruise on the open seas I would be in a strait jacket suit on a vessel carrying enough weapons to supply an army."

"I sense Chris has a passive aggressive tendency." Vin grumbled.

The two walked along, their perfectly white uniforms against the dull gray of the ship walls and floors.

"At least I now know I look good in uniform." Ezra grinned, glancing once more at his spotless white shoes.

"I forgot why I don't miss being in the army until I put on the uniform." Vin growled, "Long hair isn't allowed."

Ezra noticed that Vin's hair had been expertly hidden under the hat that he was wearing just like his. Ezra shook his head in amusement. They found Buck talking to some of the female officers who just laughed at something that he said.

Vin and Ezra joined him and gave their salutes. Ezra's was a little off, but Tanner wasn't even trying.

Buck dismissed the female officers and turned to his fellow agents, "Seriously? Could you not try a little harder Benton?"

"I ain't a sailor boy. Neither do I want to have to wear this thing. Why are we dressed like officers?" Vin huffed.

"Because Chris has it that way. For gods-sake, officer Walker, please stand at attention and try to act the part." Buck huffed.

Ezra stood a little straighter, though he could care less.

"Why is it that you and Larabee keep your names while we are made to bear false ones. Seems to defeat the purpose of undercover work."

"You're not undercover, you're borrowing a uniform to blend in. Mess up that uniform even a little and you'll be paying for a new one for officers Walker and Benton."

"Perfect." Vin muttered.

"Where is our esteemed leader?"

"Just up ahead." Buck nodded to the blond who was standing with several officers.

"So you were a lieutenant?" Vin said distractedly as they walked on over to him.

"Yes." Buck smiled, thinking about his time serving.

"Did you ever know Larabee before ATF?"

"No, but I may have heard his name in passing."

Chris noted the three men walking towards him.

"That's it for right now, I'll talk about it with you later on." Chris said, finishing up his conversation with the officers.

"Yes sir." Said one of the men. He gave a warm smile, "It's good to work under you again."

"Well we'll see if that still is the case when all of this is over.

The three officers saluted and Larabee returned it before dismissing them.

"Quite popular, aren't you." Ezra grinned, he gave his slightly off salute.

"If you aren't going to try, Standish, I'd rather you just don't do it. It's painful to watch." Chris said, "You too Tanner."

Vin gave a look of relief, dropping his hand back to his side.

"So what's with this arrangement, Chris? Going to tell us yet?" asked Buck.

"Yeah, why are JD, Josiah and Nathan staying back?" Vin frowned in confusion.

"Because their presence is more memorable where as you all can blend in. That and I have them doing something else for me."

"And are we going to be let in on this little secret?"

"I'm having them look for the boy."

"Why? The admiral said the police could look for him?" Buck reminded.

"That right there should make you wonder."

"Huh?" grunted Vin.

"Why not have half of us go and look for the boy while the other half arrest the smugglers." Ezra nodded in understanding.

"It's not that hard really to find a missing boy once you know where to look." Chris said as he turned to walk. The others followed him.

"And do we know where to look? You seem to know at least where he might be."

"It was obvious once you looked at the big picture really. No, what we are dealing with here is something bigger."

"Care to explain Larabee?" Vin said in irritation.

He didn't like the fact that someone, again, was keeping secrets from the rest of the team. People got injured and killed because of it.

Chris looked at the agent, contemplating everything.

 _Twelve hours earlier:_

 _Chris sat in the conference room with Josiah, Nathan and JD. The rest of the team he had sent packing to go on board the admiral's ship._

 _"Okay, I will make this brief seeing how by the time we should be arresting the smugglers, you all should have the boy."_

 _"But Travis said we weren't going to look for the boy." JD said hesitantly._

 _"Yes, and after listening to those orders I've decided to ignore him. No, the boy is essential in discovering what's going on with this smuggling situation. If I am correct in my assumptions."_

 _"So do we start by looking for the Russians who kidnapped him? Illya's man, Nikita?" asked Nathan._

 _"Check the videos and find anything you can that can give you a clue. Talk to the mother, Josiah and look for anything that doesn't feel right. If Vasiliev is paying Illya to kidnap the admiral's son, then find out where the money is coming from. Contact me at this radio frequency to give me updates." Chris handed Josiah the piece of paper, "You're in charge, Sanchez."_

 _Josiah nodded._

 _"So what will you all be doing then?" asked Nathan._

 _"Call it a trust-building exercise, but besides that, something seems off about the admiral and I don't think he's telling us everything. If Vasiliev is having the admiral take on his goods, he's going to have to make sure he's following through without trying anything."_

 _"But he is, he called us." JD pointed out._

 _"That is why I don't trust him. That or it could just be paranoia."_

 _"You experience that a lot?" asked Josiah._

 _"Keeps you alive a bit longer." Chris smirked, "There may be some of his men already undercover on the ship. If that's the case, then I'll have Ezra try and the others sift them out."_

 _"But wouldn't Vin be better used with tracking the boy?" Nathan asked._

 _"I'm confident JD can do it just as quick. No, I need his stealth, that and with Buck's connections, I should have enough to work my way through the people on board and eliminate any hostiles."_

 _"What about Vasiliev?"_

 _"I'm not expecting to see Vasiliev at all. If he is behind all of this, then he wouldn't be foolish enough to show his face."_

"Chris." Vin repeated.

Larabee took in a deep breath, "We are on the ship for the purpose of removing the moles from the ship as well as finding out who really is behind the kidnapping and smuggling."

Buck looked dumbfounded while Vin looked like someone lit his fuse. Ezra was the picture of composure, but was no doubt screaming internally.

Ezra finally took a breath, "Perfect. Just when my body was beginning to heal. Another Brutus preparing to stab a comrade in the back. Precisely why it's more preferable to work alone."

"How did you figure this out?" Buck asked, growing serious.

"The information on the admiral's family is sealed for this reason specifically. This is obviously the work of someone who knows him. Possibly on his ship."

Chris watched as each man began to get upset in their own way. From past experiences, Chris was wondering if these men could keep it together long enough to finish this job or if things were going to go to shit before it even started.

"For now, focus on the officers. Talk and see what you can get out of them. Stick to your ranks. Standish and Tanner has the privates, Buck the sergeants and lieutenants. I'll take the captain."

"But aren't you the captain?" asked Vin.

"Consulting Captain while I join my team in Magadan after medical leave." Chris recited the backstory he made for himself. "Now I know you all have a history with this kind of thing, so let me say up front; don't let it get in the way of the mission. If you discover anything, tell me, Buck or someone else on the team. Last thing we need is one of us getting killed."

Chris led them to a private room where the four of them sat down at a table. About five minutes later an officer came with a radio.

"Captain." Said the officer before handing it to Chris.

"Thank you." Chris nodded to him before the officer saluted and left.

"Do you have some kind of super powers or something to just summon people with things you want?" Vin asked in confusion.

"No, I just asked him ten minutes ago to come down here with a radio for me." Chris frowned.

Buck and Ezra chuckled.

Chris turned the radio on and switched it to a certain frequency.

"Sanchez are you there?"

There was a long pause with just the sound of static before Josiah picked up.

"Hey Chris. We just got finished talking to the mother."

"What did you find?"

"I guess what you'd expect; a grieving mother."

"And everything else? What did you see around the house? What was she inadvertently saying through her gestures?"

"It took me some time to learn her tells, but I figured out she was lying about going to go and stay with some friends till her son was found and the people responsible caught."

"Alright, sit on her and see where she goes."

"Will do."

"The house was clean. Spotless really. There was a lot of photos hanging around the house." Nathan added.

"What were in the photos?"

"Does that really matter?" Buck asked in confusion.

Chris held up his hand, "Nathan?"

"Uh, there were mostly of the boy, some with him and his mother and very few with them all together."

"What was in the pictures, the backgrounds, locations?"

"A lake, a cabin I think."

"Okay, what did she say about the day the boy was kidnapped?"

"She was at the store." JD's voice came over the radio.

"Okay, check if that is accurate. Did you find anything else?"

"Well, you know how he was reported missing Monday?" JD asked.

"Yeah."

"The video of him getting kidnapped was actually taken on a Saturday."

"Where would he be going on a Saturday with his backpack?" murmured Buck.

"Library? Friend's house?" Vin suggested.

"What ten year old boy goes to the library anymore?" Ezra pointed out, "Friend's house they wouldn't be waiting at bus stops. They'd ride a bike or wait for a ride from parents in the house."

"Found our first lie." Chris said as the others looked to him. "Keep searching, follow the money and follow the mother."

Josiah then signed off.

"You all got your assignments. Divide and conquer." Chris said before getting up and leaving the room.

"Just had to be a rotten egg type of case." Vin grumbled as he got up from his seat with the others.

"For once it isn't a rotten egg in our basket." Buck pointed out.

"Sure about that?" asked Vin, "He isn't always upfront with what he's thinking. Hell, he didn't tell us until now that we were here looking for a person working an inside job. Somehow he's already got an idea what's going on and we know what? Squat. Doesn't feel right."

"I agree that concealing information is extremely dangerous, but we know now what we are dealing with. As undesirable of a case this is, he is figuring this out just like us. Only he seems to reach the conclusion faster." Ezra said thoughtfully. He was still annoyed at being in the dark, but he knew when somethings were best left unsaid till later.

"Well let's do our job and help bring down the man who kidnapped the admiral's son." Buck said determinedly.

The other men nodded and set out to talk to the officers.

Ezra and Vin sat down at a long table with other officers who were already eating. The food on their trays looked surprisingly edible and smelled nice. Vin dove into his food first, feeling hungry all day. Ezra took his time eating and surveyed the people around him.

Taking the first couple of bites he rose an eyebrow.

"At least the cuisine is decent. I might be able to survive all of this."

"Don't sound so surprised about the food. We have a man in the kitchen who studied in culinary. He's a friend of mine actually. Wants to open a restaurant once he finishes here." Laughed the officer closest to Ezra. He offered him his hand, "First day?"

"'Fraid so. You?" Ezra asked curiously, figuring he might as well interview him.

"Second tour. First one is always rough with missing home and land. Names officer Binks. The others call me Binky. Bullies dream in middle school." The man laughed.

Ezra shook the offered hand, "Officer Walker." He didn't know what else to say about the added comment to the man's name. The idea of this big man being bullied at any time of his life seemed impossible to imagine. "So have you served on Admiral Wilkes before on your first tour?"

"No, I was assigned here under request."

"Request of whom?" asked Vin, now interested in the conversation.

Binks looked at both men and shook his head, "I was told to keep my eye on you. I see why now."

Vin looked ready to get up, but Ezra put a hand on his arm. Binks and his friends stood up with their finished trays. "Tell the captain I said hey."

When they were gone Vin sat back down in his seat.

"I don't like him." He huffed.

"Well we aren't sent here to like any of them. Only to _observe_ and report back. If this guy is one of the inside men then we need to proceed with caution." Ezra reminded the other man.

"He literally just said—he's trouble. Screw what he said about being bullied. Probably some psychobabble about him turning into a bully and is behind all of this."

"I'm starting to think you've been listening to too many of Mr. Sanchez's lectures on profiling."

"Well since I was told to leave my color comments on shore, I can only say this bites ass." Vin said, pinching his face in disgust.

The two got up after finishing their meal and dropped off their trays. When they were leaving the small cafeteria Vin had to squeeze pass another group coming in. One of the men looked Vin over before moving pass him. It made him pause and look over the group before following Ezra.

"I still don't see why I'm not helping to find the boy." Vin said as he finally caught up with the other man.

"I'm sure you're more needed here. Besides it's not our fault you can't swim." Ezra grinned.

Vin regretted mentioning his weakness when he had been selected by the team's leader to be on the ship. "Nathan can't either. You don't see him on board a metal box that has no business floating over open waters!"

"On another note, have you noticed that the higher ups don't dine in the same room as us."

"It's like that in the Army too."

"Yes, and I imagine the cuisine is a lot finer."

"The grub wasn't bad here. You said so yourself."

"Tanner, never will I ever eat _grub_ if that ever happens you are free to put me out of my misery because I would've been already been out of my mind."

"Well look on the bright side. You got to skip the horrible training which is usually required before you get to leave for your tour."

"Excellent. So I have no training to know how to get off this godforsaken vessel if it decides to sink."

"At least we ain't near icebergs."

"Don't play with me."

Both men spent the next five hours talking to the officers on board. Buck they saw on occasion and in passing. Chris they didn't see at all.

The blond had waited until the admiral had went to dinner with the rest of his men before slipping into the man's quarters. The room was clean like it should be. There were a few pictures that were on the desk. Chris moved to look at them. It looked like one of the ones Josiah had described at the house. Looking at the picture closer, Chris saw that it was definitely a lake house. Taking the frame apart, Chris looked at the back of the photo.

 **Summer '16**

 **Sammy turns 9 yrs old**

Putting the frame back together and then placing the photo back in the spot he had found it, Chris looked around the room for anything else.

He spent five more minutes in the room before having to slip back out. As he walked back to his room he found the admiral walking towards him.

"If these men get away with this and my son is killed I will make sure you lose your job and your reputation."

Chris snorted, before rubbing his nose, "Was there a reason why you chose this team?"

"I don't know what you're referring to."

"The director. He said you chose this team specifically."

"Well I asked for the best." The man said, standing straighter. "This is of course very important."

"Yes, I know. You're son's life hangs in the balance if you don't do what they say. It's a good thing then that I have my best men for this kind of situation looking for him."

"I said that I'd get the local police on that."

Chris gave a slight shrug. "Why wait for their incompetent asses to move when you can have my men find him faster. You do want him to be found as soon as possible, correct?"

"Are you saying that I don't?"

"No, just wondering what you would say in answer to my question."

Chris gave his salute before walking around the man and back to his room.

Buck, Ezra and Vin found each other before turning in for the night.

"I still have my doubts about this plan, though I understand it better." Ezra said as he drank some of the liquor he had snuck on board.

"Yeah, we're doing all this work, but where has he been this entire time? I mean he can help us with the privates since there are only five people he needs to talk to." Vin murmured. "What's he doing? Eating nice food with the other higher ups?"

"I passed him once when I was going through my list of people. He said he was going to look into something, because something wasn't adding up to him."

"Did he say what?" asked Vin.

"No, just that he'd get back to me when he was done."

"More secrets."

"While I was talking to the officers, I asked some of them if they knew or heard of Larabee. The ones who heard of him say he's the real deal. Say he has like a sixth sense and can feel when something is wrong." Buck said thoughtfully.

"A human polygraph." Ezra snorted, "Excellent. We can use him in interrogations."

"Careful Ezra. He may sense you talking about him." Laughed Vin.

"You two never take anything seriously." Buck shook his head.

"I haven't found a reason to trust him." Vin said as he stopped laughing. "The man keeps hiding things."

"That almost cost me my career as well as my life." Ezra said in agreement. "Until I see otherwise, I have no reason to trust him. Remember he is only temporarily."

The small group split up shortly afterwards, none of them noticing the pair of eyes on them as they left.

Josiah had JD locate the lake house on Chris's request. After having Nathan keep an eye on the mother, they found that she hadn't gone to any of her friends' houses, but was headed to the very place they were looking for.

"Why would she go there?" JD asked as he sat in the back seat of the car Josiah was driving. Nathan was in the front seat trying to contact Larabee. Since it was not at the scheduled time, they couldn't get a hold of him.

"Damn." Nathan grumbled as he put the radio away.

"Chris was probably already thinking this, but I don't think the boy was kidnapped. Those videos you had of Sammy getting taken, it was on a Saturday, but he was reported missing Monday. Why lie? That and the money that Nikita was paid with, it was definitely not from Vasiliev."

"I mean I get the fact that Nikita and Illya were hired by the admiral, but I don't understand why he would want to make it look like Vasiliev kidnapped his son." JD said.

"Well hopefully Mrs. Wilkes can enlighten us." Nathan said as they finally arrived at the house surrounded by trees and other wild growing plants. They could hear the sounds of the water even as they walked up to the driveway.

Josiah and JD took the front while Nathan went around back.

The bigger man knocked on the door and waited. There was no reply for a long time.

"Maybe we were wrong in assuming—" JD was cut off by hearing movement from inside.

Josiah pulled out his gun and pushed JD behind him. "Stand back."

He kicked the door opened and began to do a sweep of the house. There were signs of someone being there very recently.

JD held his gun awkwardly as he tried to help clear the house.

"Josiah, JD. Out here!" Nathan called.

Both men went through the sliding door that was in the kitchen and found Nathan standing with Mrs. Wilkes and her son.

"Looks like Chris called this one." Josiah said as he put his gun away. JD did the same.

The three men sat around a picnic table with Mrs. Wilkes and her son.

"What's this all about? Why did you fake your own son's kidnapping and pin it on another man?"

"It's not like that!" Mrs. Wilkes said hurriedly.

"Then what is it then? Because you're wasting government's time with this goose chase." Josiah said gruffly.

"My husband, he told me that he had gotten into some trouble with some Russian. Said that if he brought the man what he wanted then they'd leave our family alone. We staged the kidnapping to prevent the actual kidnapping."

"And what does this Russian want? Do you have a name?" asked Nathan.

"Vasiliev. Said that they wanted a man and the shipment of weapons coming in on my husband's ship."

"What man do they want?" asked Josiah, not feeling good about what was possibly going to be the answer.

"I can't. If they don't have that man then they'll come after my son."

"The name!" Josiah growled.

"A man named Larabee. That's all I was told."

The three agents looked at one another in shock.

"Why would they want Chris?" JD wondered out loud.

Day Three: out at sea

Chris stayed up all night in his bunk, trying to think about the information from the case. Closing his eyes, he reviewed the images again. He saw the boy, getting taken by the men. The tattoo of Nikita. Why was that bothering him so much? That and the risk being taken. It wasn't adding up no matter how many times he looked at it.

Sitting up, Chris found a pad of paper and began writing things down.

 **Sammy Wilkes was taken at a bus stop.**

 **He was taken on a Saturday morning and he had a backpack.**

 **Admiral Wilkes told him that he was…**

Chris paused in his writing.

"Shit. How could I have missed that." He tore the paper up and then started writing a message down quickly. Two things; he had to warn the others and he knew where the boy was being held. If Josiah and the others hadn't found the boy yet

He slipped the note he had for the others when he heard a loud knock on his door. Really, they couldn't wait until morning to do this. Chris moved to the door and found three men, waiting out in the small corridor.

"You need to come with us Captain Larabee." Said one of the men.

"I see you didn't put forth much effort in hiding your accent." Chris murmured as he was pulled out of his room. He fought back a little, but then settled once he felt the end of a gun pressed into his side.

"Walk, and we won't kill you."

Chris did as they were told, not exactly sure where they were headed because they weren't heading up like he originally hoped.

To his greatest relief, he saw Buck making his way back to his room from probably another night of finding company to keep warm.

"Chris." Buck said in surprise. "I didn't expect to see you up so early." Buck kept the confusion from showing on his face as he watched Larabee suddenly need to blink a lot to 'clear his eyes'. Three quicks, three longs, three more quicks.

S.O.S.

"Make him leave." Ordered one of the men in a whisper, "Or we'll shoot him. Warn him and we'll kill the both of you."

Chris shifted his weight onto his other bare foot, "Yeah, going to take a walk with these officers and talk for a bit. Hey, I'm sorry about that girl you were telling me you were interested in, found out she's already taken by a cobbler. Who knew."

Chris then began to walk and hoped that the other man got his message.

Buck's instincts were to charge the men holding Chris, but since the man was barely moving, there must be a gun hidden among them.

After they had walked around the corner, Buck tried to decipher what Chris had said to him. It was obviously some kind of message.

Found. Did Chris find something or did he get found out?

Taken. He got taken, but there was something more.

Cobbler. Who the hell knew of a cobbler and used it in a sentence.

Buck went into Chris's room and knelt down to retrieve the man's boots. He fumbled around a little before finding a folded note.

"You paranoid bastard." Buck grinned and placed the boots back before going to find Vin and Ezra.

"If you think that you're going to actually succeed in your plan, then I suggest you think again." Chris said as they finished tying him up to a chair.

"Oh really. How's that?"

"Because I have two diseases that give me the advantage over you." Chris grinned.

"And what would that be, Captain Larabee?" asked a man, stepping into the room, gaining everyone's attention. The man behind all of this.

"Well, I'm considered by those who know me to be a paranoid bastard." Chris cocked his head back a little, "That, and I'm cursed with Hyperthymesia. A quick science lesson, it means I can't forget anything. So when I thought back to the video of your son getting taken, I remember the date. It was a Saturday morning. Now where would a boy, with his backpack full be heading to on a Saturday morning? That's when I recalled the pictures in your office. The only ones you were mostly in were the ones taken at the family lake house. I had one of my men keep tabs on your wife. Who said she was going to stay with friends until this was all over. When we go looking for her though, she won't be at her friends' house. That's because she's at the lake house with your son"

"Quite Impressive." Nodded the admiral. "I've heard of your reputation of being a man hard to shake off once you've caught a scent."

"For someone who knew this was going to happen, you seem pretty calm."

"But of course. Your reputation proceeds you. The man who knows and never forgets. Quite the gift that can be useful in a trade."

Chris kept up his cool demeanor, "So, you're selling country and military secrets. For what then?"

"Oh no, I'm selling _you_. You're the one who's going to be labelled a traitor by your country. They have experts who are good at extracting information from people."

"Well I don't break easy."

"Everyone breaks in the end." The admiral grinned as he folded his hands behind his back.

"So was this whole thing just a ruse to get me on board so you can sell me? I figured you were selling the weapons too."

"I am. Who doesn't love a good war. Economy and businesses do well after all. World War was proof of that."

"Yeah well you're forgetting the destruction too, and the deaths. You really think your family will be safe then?"

"I've already seen to that. They will be secured in a safe location. Your team is being taken care of as we speak."

"You really think they don't already know what you're up to?"

"I know they don't. Paranoid bastard. I've heard that you're not a man who trust people easily. That's why I know that none of them know. They're all pathetic and a disgrace to the country. I know about your thrown-together team that can't keep a team leader. Sanchez; aggressive streaks and drunken disorderliness. Jackson; too afraid to take a life, is a pussy of an field agent. Dunne; a wuss who is only good behind a computer. Wilmington; womanizer and a son of a whore, man shouldn't have been allowed in the ATF building. Tanner has a record and Standish, the files on Standish you could write a book on. These men are incompetent and are taking away where the real credit is due."

"What, to you? Because you are such the patriot." Chris mocked, "Yeah, I've read my men's files and I remember everything they said on them, but I know them off the books. What I do know is that they are resourceful and they don't fuck around with anyone who is dirty. Thank you for volunteering on being their source of a release. The last guy, I'm told died instantly."

"Wilmington, you have any idea what time it is?" Ezra groaned as he opened the door to his and Vin's room.

"Larabee was taken." Buck said as he pushed pass them.

"What!" Vin said, climbing out of the bed.

"Some men took him. He left me a clue as to what's going on." Buck said, pushing the note in Ezra's hands.

Ezra looked it over and then a second time.

"We need to find a way to contact JD and the others."

"So Wilkes is the dirty person then. But why take Chris now? Why at all?" asked Vin.

"I don't know, but we need to move. Those men might come back for us next. We ain't going to lose another team leader in less than a month." Buck said as he tried to encourage the other two to get dressed faster.

"It seems to be our fate to just not have one. That or it's a sign that this team shouldn't exist." Ezra said as he pulled on the remainder of his clothes and concealed his gun in the waist line of his pants. Vin did the same with his.

They slipped out of the little quarters and ran straight into Officer Binks and three others.

Ezra stiffened.

"I was told by the captain that we were to help you when the time came." Said Binks.

"Pardon?" Ezra asked, confused.

"Captain Larabee. He had us put on this ship as support in case anything was to happen. Our instructions were that if he did not make contact with us in the morning then we were to come look for either him or you."

"He was not in his room." Added another officer.

The three agents then realized that these were the officers that they had seen the blond talking to when they had first sailed off.

"Does Chris, know everyone on this damn ship?" Buck shook his head as they made their way as a group down the narrow corridor.

"He prefers to keep up the element of surprise for as long as possible." Binks grinned. He took them to a room which was used as storage. Once they were all in, the door was closed. "So what do you need from us?"

"A radio would be nice." Ezra voiced.

"The only radios we have on board are in the control room and the captain has one."

"Why do you need the radio right now Ezra? We have bigger things to deal with than what's going on in the states." Vin frowned.

"Are there any other ships out in these waters that you know of?" Ezra asked the officers, ignoring Vin.

"We can check the scans."

"Where would they most likely be holding Lara—the captain?" asked Buck.

"They may have moved him to where the weapons are stored. There's a room off to the side that's big enough to hide a man."

Buck nodded, "Vin and I will go and find Chris. If one of you can help Ezra. The rest, see if you can get rid of the goons."

Everyone began to split up.

Vin followed Buck as if he was his shadow.

"I really hate all of this." Vin grumbled.

"You can give Chris crap about this when we rescue him."

"I can't get ahold of anyone." Josiah said as he paced the floor with the radio...

"What if we're too late." JD wrung his hands in worry.

"Hell, perfect time to be the ones left out." Nathan grumbled, digging his hands into his pockets.

"We need to trust that Chris knows what he is doing." Josiah said as he set the device down and raked his fingers through his hair for what was like the tenth time in the last twenty minutes.

"He left us out because he doesn't think we contribute that much to the team when it comes to field work." Nathan growled.

JD's head dipped in shame. Knowing that for him at least, it was true.

"Chris doesn't think that at all." Josiah said sternly, "What, do you think that the work we did in locating the boy was useless and a waste of time? We are still field agents working in the field. So what if we don't have bullets flying at us. I thought you'd be happy for once you don't have to deal with that."

"But while we're here the others _have_ bullets probably flying at them and are possibly getting hurt while we can only sit on our hands now and wait." Nathan said in growing agitation.

Travis came into the office area of team seven. The man was moving quite fast.

"Any news on the others yet?"

"None." Josiah said as he looked glumly at his old friend.

"I telephoned the Navy base where they had set out from. Asked what Chris's old superior could do to help."

"What did he say?"

"They're three days out. Probably wouldn't get to them until it was too late. They're trying to get a hold of any ships that are close enough to assist."

Later on it was Josiah and Travis alone in the room. Nathan had took JD out to get coffee as a distraction while they waited.

"Did you not ask why the admiral requested team seven specifically?"

"No, I thought it was because he was looking for the best team." Josiah scoffed at that and shook his head, "Despite what you believe, Josiah, I was trying to test the waters with Larabee being in the leader position. I do believe in this team. Though rough around the edges, I see the potential of you all being the best team in Denver."

"We're all from the reject pile. Used goods, and voted least popular by our previous employers."

"Larabee is the key to changing all of that. You thought so yourself." Travis reminded the other man.

"I do, but now his life hangs in the balance and I'm worried about the ones on that ship with him."

"You think they're in danger too?"

"Not that. They were all deeply affected by the betrayal of our last captain. I'm worried if they will be up to trying to save this one. Vin and Ezra haven't been that easy on him."

"I thought you said Chris was getting used to them?"

"Takes it all in stride, but he's probably only putting up with it because he's here for two more months."

"The first mission can either make or break it, to see if this team still has a chance. It sets the rhythm for how all the others will be."

"So the question is then, how is Chris going to handle this situation?" Josiah said in thought.

Chris grunted as another fist dug into his side. He clamped down on letting out any signs of pain. His body was shaky as the after sensation danced across his bruising ribs. They had given him a black eye which was swelling shut and a busted lip.

In his mind, he calculated the possibilities of them hitting him hard enough and long enough before he is finally able to forget. Forget all the useless facts. The boring conversations. The death of his family—no he didn't want to forget them. He wouldn't allow himself to.

"He's still keeping quiet." Said one of the hired Russians who looked at Chris in wonder.

Chris was taking in shallow breaths but he was sending the man death glares.

"You're going to be a lot of fun to deal with later. I wonder how much you can take before you start to squeal."

"Fuck you." Chris grounded out. He received a fist to the head for his comment, but his barely reined in anger was keeping him alert and from blacking out.

"What if we cut off some of his fingers? He doesn't need any of them." Said another thug.

"The boss didn't say anything about cutting him. Probably wants to leave that for his buyers. Though I would like to fillet him like a fish." The man grinned as he played with his knife.

The edge of it pricked Chris's bare chest. The man drawing blood as he watched with humor as Chris fought the pain, all-the-while sending the man a glare.

"Stop fooling around." Admiral Wilkes growled. "Have they found the other three agents?"

"No, not yet."

"How in the hell do you lose them? We're on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Find them! I want them dead. Where are the rest of the men?"

"They haven't come back yet."

Chris gave a smug smile to the admiral who sneered and went back up with three other men.

Buck spotted the admiral leaving the storage room with three men and he and Vin hid. Once they were out of sight Vin turned to Buck in annoyance.

"Why are we taking him out?"

"Because we're supposed to be the good guys, remember. That and we need to find Chris. He's team leader. He makes the shots."

"If he doesn't I will." Vin said gruffly.

They hid on the side of the door leading to the storage. Buck gave the signal and they went in. There was about four people in the, one was a man tied to a chair with their head slightly down. The man in front of that person was pulling the man's head up by the hair before delivering another blow.

"You just don't want to quit do you." Snarled the man.

"Well I need to stay awake so I can watch the look of surprise when it's you who's dying and not me." Chris said, spitting blood onto the ground.

Before the man could raise his hand and say another word, a shot rang out and the man dropped the ground by Chris's feet.

"I was thinking of a more surprised face than that." Chris murmured.

The remaining two guards drew their weapons and began firing where they had thought they had heard the shot originated. Both men fell with a bullet in the chest before Buck and Vin came out from cover.

"I'm glad you're good at deciphering messages." Chris grunted as he was cut from the ties that held him in the chair.

"Don't count on that happening often." Buck said as he helped the blond to stand.

Chris turned and as best as he could with a swollen eye and the other one on its way to being shut too, looked at Buck. "Don't ever sale yourself short."

Buck nodded and then gave a verbal confirmation, not knowing how well Chris could see. They led him to the entrance of the room and out into the corridor. Vin went first to provide cover.

"So how much do you know what's going on?" Chris asked.

"Admiral is the bad guy." Vin said from up front.

"Apparently I'm a valuable trading piece. Use me to sale military secrets and help start another war. Have me branded as a traitor."

"Man I'm finding more reasons to hate this guy." Vin growled.

"Where's Ezra?"

"Control room trying to find help nearby."

"We need to get to him. Wilkes has men looking for you all."

"Your sailor boys must've taken care of the others." Vin sent a grin back to the two.

"Yeah well I wasn't planning on using their help unless shit hit the fan."

"Looks like shit hit the fan then." Buck chuckled.

Ezra was working on figuring out the controls to scan for nearby ships, but so far he got bumpkiss.

"How does any sane person understand any of this." He muttered as he continued. Officer Binks had showed him here was working on the other side of the large room trying to get the radio working. Apparently someone had disabled it.

"Never thought one of captain's men would break down over a control board." Laughed Binks.

Ezra pulled his eyes away from his work and frowned at the other man who seemed to enjoy messing with him.

"He's a temporary leader for our group."

"Still, I'm surprised. The captain would've refused the position if he thought the team was not worth his time and effort. He's like a horse breeder; sees potential and looks for the best to magnify it."

"I'm not a horse." Ezra bit back sharply.

"More like a snapping turtle." Binks said, enjoying the look of annoyance he saw on the uptight little man. "I'm not sad that he's temporarily your captain. No, I like him leading us. I'll let you borrow him though while he's on leave."

"Like we'd need your permission." Ezra huffed. He jabbed at the control panels with more force then was necessary and was relieved when the scanner came on.

"See," Binks grinned, "Nothing to it."

Ezra was about to comment when Binks pulled a gun out and aimed it at him. Ezra ducked as the shot was fired and hit the person who had come up behind him. He looked back to the officer.

"What? Think I'd shoot someone on my side?"

"I wanted to shoot you." Ezra murmured.

Binks only snorted as a response to that. "Quick, grab the door. We don't want any more unwelcomed guest."

Ezra moved to the door and pulled it closed and locked them inside.

"Did you get the radio up yet?" Ezra asked, moving back to the scanner.

"Yes, but it reset itself. What frequency do you want"

Shots firing made Ezra duck again. Binks wasn't so lucky and was hit in the shoulder. Ezra pulled out his gun and looked to the door. Curse windows! The person who had shot a hole through the window broke the rest of the glass and stuck his hand in to unlock the door. Ezra took that time to turn and shoot the hand as it tried to turn the lock. The person who the hand belonged to yelled in pain and withdrew his hand. Ezra used that time to crawl over to the downed officer.

"The hell are you doing worrying about me? Shoot that bastard. I'll be fine." Binks growled, his good humor gone.

The people at the door had gotten it open and were now doing a sweep of the room.

"Well this is a very unfortunate turn of events." Ezra grumbled as he tried to think of a way out of this situation.

"Just kill them." Binks said.

"I don't do, 'going out in a blaze of glory'." Ezra murmured. He turned and fired a few shots off. To his disappointment, he only nicked a man's leg. Binks handed Ezra the radio he had just fixed. Ezra smiled and turned the volume up on it. The device screeched, bringing in an unknown sender as he slid it across the floor. The men cursed loudly, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. The undercover agent took the window of opportunity and shot two of the men. Only one remained. Ezra was trying to reload his gun, but before he could finished a shot was fired and Binks had dropped the man who was headed their way.

"You took too long to avenge me."

"Like you said, you'll be fine."

Ezra got up and checked the radio. It had a perfect hole blown into it. The officer grunted as he stood, pressing his hand to his bleeding shoulder and stood next to the agent.

"There goes my hard work."

A sound near the door hand them both raising their guns towards it.

"Whoa there! Not the bad guys." Buck said, he was carrying more of the blond man's weight now.

Ezra put his gun away while Binks went to help the other agent carry Chris to a chair.

"What happened?"

"Got in the way of someone's fist. Repeatedly." Buck answered as he set his burden down.

"Did you get the radio working." Chris asked, ignoring their talk about him.

"It was shot."

Vin slipped into the room, "What do you want us to do?"

"Do we know where Wilkes is?" Chris asked, trying to get up from the chair he had been put in.

"Probably trying to find some way off the boat. Get in waters that don't belong under the U.S." Buck guessed.

"Alright. Buck, take Vin and _apprehend_ him. Don't kill him. He can do time in a nice cell. Ezra, help me up, we need to get a hold of another ship. Binks, get the captain."

The men moved as one; Buck, Vin and Binks out of the room, while Ezra helped Chris to the controls.

"I don't know what you can do. You can't really see anything." Ezra murmured.

Chris let his bruised hands brush over the control panel. "I know exactly what to do. If memory serves me, which it never ceases to, there is a board over there with four switches. Push them towards each other."

Ezra looked over and found the ones the blond was talking about. Flipping them so they pointed in, he turned to see Chris feel around before reaching a lever and with the other hand a button. The engines of the ship began to turn off as Chris stopped the power.

"How did you—" Ezra stopped himself and went to the man who was about to slip and fall to the ground.

"I'm fine. I need you to go to the admiral's quarters. He has his own private radio. Bring it here."

Ezra nodded and went to the door, but then stopped.

"I can handle myself just fine. Go."

Ezra wanted to argue the point that the man was currently blind with swollen eyes. He couldn't even stand upright. Instead he offered his gun to him.

"Just don't shoot me when I come back in."

"Better identify yourself then."

Vin spotted the admiral trying to get one of the boats to be put overboard, but with the power shut off, the machine that had been lifting it, had him sitting in a boat seven feet in the air.

"I suggest you surrender." Vin called out. "Because if you don't I will shoot you and Chris won't be too happy about that."

"And Vin doesn't miss a kill shot." Buck added.

Chris sat in his office, now safely on land again. The admiral was arrested and so were the rest of the Russians working for him. Overall, he was okay with the turn of events. Picking up a shot glass he had in his desk drawer and a bottle of whiskey, he poured himself a drink.

"You ain't getting any younger no matter how long you stand there." Chris said as he threw back the shot and poured himself a refill.

"Good ears." Vin remarked as he walked further into the room and sat down in one of the chairs. "Does Nathan know you're drinking that stuff?"

"Has nothing to do with my hearing, you're always sneaking and just lingering around, waiting to be noticed. It's medicinal so he'll just have to get over it."

Vin chuckled and snagged the bottle of whiskey and took a sip before putting it back in place.

"Why did you do it?"

"What are you referring to?" Chris grunted as he readjusted his aching body in his seat.

"Handle the case like you did. Split the team up and add on others? Josiah and the other's should've been backing us up, not Binks and those officers."

"Those officers, Tanner, are men I've known for years. They receive orders and follow through with them. You all have had a history with rogues. I couldn't risk any of you doing anything—rash."

"But what about Nathan, Josiah and JD?" Vin frowned.

"They know how to follow orders and be objective. I could trust them on their own."

"So you were just watching us then?"

Chris gave an unrepentant smile, "That and I wanted you to see a team who works together. Binks and the other officers are some of my most loyal men."

Vin wasn't sure if he should be offended or not, but then, he didn't trust or want to trust Chris either in the beginning.

"If you like them all so much then why don't you go back to them." He said gruffly and got up from his seat to walk out.

"I will once I finish my time here. Maybe sooner if the director finds a replacement before then."

"So that's what happened?" Nathan said, hearing about Vin's conversation with Chris. He was quite pleased now that he knew the blond trusted him to do his role in the case. It felt like a high achievement.

"Yeah well, he doesn't trust all of us." Ezra murmured.

"That's because you all behave like children and as such, must be treated like one."

Josiah laughed as he watched the two men bicker. Buck and JD were up to their usual banter while Vin was silent beside him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing it's just—it was good, working with someone who changed things up a bit. Though I didn't like him withholding what he knew, it's just him processing faster than us and he wants us to catch up on our own."

Josiah smiled at the younger man trying to understand the enigma that was Chris Larabee.

"You want him to stay don't you?"

Vin snorted, "Hell the guy wants to leave. I would too in his situation."

"I don't think you understand Chris all that well yet."

"Yeah, you're the profiler."

"That's what the papers say." Laughed the big man.

Chris sat in the director's office, waiting for the man to read the reports.

"How are you Chris?"

"Fine."

The older man looked the blond over. The green eyes were barely visible under the swollen skin. Chris held his sunglasses tightly in one hand.

"I'm sorry that I was unaware of the man's plans before—"

"It's fine and he's been dealt with. As you can see from my report, you have my opinion on how the team did under the circumstances."

"Did they know you were testing them?"

"They do now, but as far as I'm concerned, I will help pull this team together and make them functional again. As is your request. Afterwards, they are yours to deal with as you see fit. Lessons from Larabee can only be taught. It's the student who decides if they want to accept it."

Chris got up, put his shades on and walked out of the office.

Travis shook his head and smiled, glad he had this man on his side.

Chris sat on his couch drinking beer and smoking his cigarette while watching the news channel. After everything that had happened, he was certain that he was going to get some sleep tonight. Though he knew that he wasn't doing himself any good by flooding his brain with more useless information from the television.

A knock on his door made him still his movements. He pulled out the gun he kept in the cushions of his couch and moved to the door silently. He checked the peephole and frowned.

Unlocking his door, he saw six faces smiling at him. Chris frowned, keeping his gun in plain sight.

"We thought since you didn't want to join us at the Saloon, we thought we could join you and bring the Saloon with us." Buck said with a grin.

Nathan held up a few cases of beer.

Chris sighed and pulled the door open to allow them in. Josiah was the last one to enter. The big man put a hand on Chris's shoulder and smiled.

"Figured it wasn't the time for any of us to be alone tonight."

Chris didn't say anything, but stuffed his gun in the waistline of his jeans and shut the door.

He figured sleep could wait.


End file.
